When I think of my time at South, and even before then in middle and elementary schools, I’ve had many different goals. Learn to read, master those torturous multiplication tables, make it through virtual learning, take my first AP classes and so on. We’re so lucky these days to be able to have so many resources for our education, as well as a really supportive school system. But I’ve learned that we place far too much importance on grades and scores than on authentic learning.
Every day, it seems we have fewer interactions with teachers and more with online sources. We sit in rooms full of peers with screens in front of faces, watching videos of lectures, conversing with Artificial Intelligence (AI) for a grade, or following the same exact curriculum as every other student in the country, taking AP whatever. While it’s a boon to have such resources at hand, whatever happened to human connection? Discussion with peers? Personalized lesson plans? Instead, we are faced with monotony and a lack of connection.
None of this is to implicate the teachers of today. I’ve had many incredibly impactful teachers throughout my years who’ve shaped who I am now. Something I can say about each of them, I can remember at least three facts about them personally, and I am 100 percent sure they can do the same for me. In my experience, most teachers would appreciate the opportunity to take more initiative in their classrooms than they are allowed. So often they hear, “But will that be on the test?”
With the rise of AI, being a teacher has never been more difficult. But I would argue that students would not use AI in a deceitful manner if we prioritized understanding over completion and deadlines. If less emphasis were placed on an added boost to the GPA and more on showing critical thinking.
Everyone has different goals, but we should think about what our priorities are when we say “education.” By halting the generation of product-oriented, highly organized and obedient workers, we can focus on the journey and not the destination, get messy from time to time, and ask the important questions. Because those are the kinds of people who will make the world a brighter place for the future, not the student who could copy and paste something for a quick A+.
